How It's Playing: Editorials Around the Country Come Out Against Boehner Plan

As we debate on the Boehner Default Act that has no chance of passing the Senate, it is clear that Republicans are putting our economic security at risk by refusing to compromise on a debt limit proposal.

We already know what the pollssay: The American people want a balanced compromise.

And now, editorial pages around the country are weighing in against Speaker Boehner’s plan.

“While any realistic approach to the crisis will have to cut spending, we dare Mr. Boehner and his supporters to name one American business, just one, that would operate under the "Cut, Cap and Balance" plan that the House Republicans are pushing.

“…Simply cutting up the credit cards, as House freshman Vicki Hartzler, R-Harrisonville suggests, ignores the realities that most families face.”

“Boehner’s plan would be bad for the country, but the fact that he had to delay the vote in an 11th-hour attempt to win over extremists who insist on even steeper cuts illustrates the extent to which a small faction of House members are holding the nation hostage.”

“…But allowing the most extreme faction of one party in one branch of government to call the shots for the rest of the nation is not democracy in action; it’s not what was envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. Someone should alert Michele Bachmann and others who worship the Founding Fathers that those wise old souls envisioned the House as a real debating society, in which representatives worked together to find common ground, and not as a place where a minority could manipulate the rules to impose its will.”

“…But while Obama’s Democrats were mostly open to a compromise, as were many Republicans in the Senate, the House Republicans were not. That fact, more than any substantive issue, forced the breakdown of the White House talks. Boehner had to choose: reach a broader deal with Obama, or prevent a Tea Party revolt in the House.

“…In his Monday speech, he noted that he was speaker of the entire House, not just the Republican caucus. He should keep that in mind as he tries, over the next 72 hours, to avoid a financial disaster that would be entirely self-inflicted.”

“Rather than negotiate an acceptable (or mutually unacceptable) deal, Washington remains paralyzed — largely because of the inability of House Republicans to compromise on their opposition to increased revenues while taking credit for forcing Democrats to the budget-cutting table.

“…It is concerning to see the Speaker pushing a plan at this late hour that even Republicans acknowledge may not pass the GOP-controlled House. Not to mention the fact that it can't pass the Democrat-controlled Senate. And the likely White House veto.”